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Bolarus IX is typically classified as an M-class planet, almost by reflex. Indeed, the natives insist on the designation for somewhat petty reasons; it brings the world into the same category as political giants like Earth and Tellar. Bolarus IX is more accurately described as O-class, being largely pelagic. Its surface features a number of islands, archipelagos, and atolls, surrounded by extensive ocean. Most of the major cities are therefore considerably isolated. The disparate nature of early population centres led to the formation of multiple, largely distinct cultures. Bolians are indeed known for their racial and ethnic diversity, rivalling that of Humans. National boundaries are still in use on the planet, even under the modern global government.

Due to the increased proportion of water to land, tectonic shift is somewhat slower than normal. Nearly all the planet’s fault lines lie below the surface of the ocean; as such, mountain ranges are rare, but island archipelagos are relatively common. Continuous water erosion has caused the formation of sheer cliffs, waterfalls and jagged rock formations. Flood plains are wide and expansive, home to plants that can survive both extremely wet conditions and periodic dry spells.

Bolarus IX is prone to “weather,” as the natives typically phrase it. Hurricanes and typhoons are yearly occurrences, as the relative lack of landmass to act as a breakwater encourages violent storm fronts. Bolians take much of this in stride; their oldest cities sit upon heavy concentrations of bedrock, unlikely to be washed away in a flash flood. Many modern cities also take the form of underwater domes, insulated from the worst of the surface weather. Though the storm seasons are long, there are seasons of sunshine as well, and the Bolians are experts at using the calm to good advantage. Everything from the massive fishing and aquaculture fleets to the well organized planetary development projects work with cheerful efficiency when the weather is good, and prepare for the next break in the storms when it is not. Thanks to the prevalence of undersea cities, Bolians must also contend with aspects of weather most worlds don’t; namely, tides and deep-sea currents. While Bolarus IX rejects weather control satellites, instead letting nature take its course, it does have advanced underwater monitoring stations, used to predict submarine tremors. Similarly, giant tidal engines generate power by harnessing the currents, while also helping mitigate their effects before they can threaten the underwater domes.

Only three of the planet’s islands are large enough to be called continents, and each of these is still smaller than any on Earth. Named Rabinu, Rasara and Bol’ki, they are fairly evenly spaced along the equator. Smaller landmasses such as V’olos, Izos, and Kasiron are spread across the planet, but typically don’t appear at the northern or southern extremes. Instead, the poles consist of uninterrupted ocean, specifically named Lirathanan in the north and Kisaran in the south. Due to the absence of anchoring landmass, the legendary storms of Bolarus IX are able to move across the planet’s surface unchecked.

In the southern hemisphere, far from the closest continent, a huge standing whirlpool has formed, along with an attendant storm. This aquatic vortex, called the Senden Funnel, actually helps regulate the planet’s weather, disrupting hurricanes which might otherwise circle the globe repeatedly, growing in strength. Many legends have sprung up over what is at the centre of the Senden Funnel, both on the surface and at the bottom of the sea, but all sensor readings indicate the region is merely a standing storm, albeit of considerable size.

Bolarus IX’s crust and mantle hold rich deposits of heavy metals. Thanks to efficient engineering, and sluice tunnels running under the oceans, the Bolians mine and work these metals in their underwater cities. Valuable alloys such as rodinium and polyduranium are shipped out to other worlds, for substantial profit.

The flora of Bolarus IX is predominately blue and orange in colour. It includes many low, flowing trees, such as the northern islands’ Sylvin, which carpet the region in light blue petals when they blossom. The Bolian people value beautiful flora and often surround their homes with live plants and trees. By contrast, animal life fared poorly as civilization spread across the planet. Very few land-based species survived Bolarus IX’s industrial age, as most of their habitats were destroyed by expanding cities. Direct exploitation of natural resources left many regions defoliated. Furthermore, biodiversity plummeted as species were spread between islands on boats and planes. However, things have improved in the planet’s space-faring age. Modern Bolians have begun to regret the damage they caused; efforts have been made to conserve endangered animals, with intensive breeding programs aimed at restoring the depleted land-life. The Bolian oceans, on the other hand, abound with fauna, and require no major restoration. Bolians have great love for seafood, and in contrast to their behaviour ashore, have always taken good care of maritime resources. The average Bolarus resident can differentiate between the tastes of hundreds of different fish and mollusc species, and can even tell when and where they were harvested. Finally, avian life fared somewhat between the two extremes, being neither as well preserved as sea life nor as threatened as ground-dwellers. The diversity of avian species on the planet is much poorer than it was in centuries past. However, many of those which have survived are particularly beautiful, such as the bital, or bird of paradise, which has glorious prismatic plumage and assumes a prominent role in many Bolian legends.